safe in the dark
by Katsura369
Summary: Haruhi has to deal with being a host but she's always been protected by the other hosts but when her friend Maria comes back into her life with a deadly secret the two girl are forced into a twisted game with no one to turn to or so they think. Full summary inside
1. Chapter 1

**Hello dear readers I'm here with another fan fiction and this time it's Ouran high school host club; I've been getting a lot of inspiration lately and couldn't resist writing this story as well as many others that I have just posted up. **

**Read and Enjoy.**

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><p><strong>Summary <strong>

**Haruhi has been dealing with a lot since she came to Ouran high school; aside from having to be disguised as a boy in a host club to pay her debt an old friend from her past Maria comes over to live with her. However it's not what she was expecting when the two girls have to deal with a creeper that possibly murdered Maria's parents calling himself Phantom and with an organisation that wants the two girls to help them take out the twisted person but will they be able to handle it and how is Haruhi supposed to keep this dangerous job hidden from the host club?**

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><p>Ouran high school; a great high school known to hold some of the most privileged kids in the country; however there was a few that were not as privileged and that included a girl with boy short brown hair and doll like brown eyes; she was pretty petite and cute and an honours student and also...everyone think she's a boy.<p>

Not that she cared; this was none other than Haruhi Fujioka and the reason the entire school thought she was a boy was because of the few people that were in on her secret and that would be the members of the Ouran high host club whom Haruhi was indebted to after breaking an expensive vase in their music room.

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><p>She herself disguised as a boy had become an official member of the host club in order to pay of her debt; now she aside from dealing with the girls that fuss over her there was also the host club members; the two red headed; gold eyed handsome but mischievous twins Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin who Haruhi thought just loved to try and get on her last nerve unknown to their hidden intentions; the gorgeous blonde haired; blue eye Tamaki Suoh the president of the host club who claims to think of all of them as a family with him being the father as well as the King of the host club; there was also the handsome dark haired; dark eyed vice president of the host club Kyoya Ootori also known as the Shadow king; mother or Kyoya sempai; then there was the passive but attractive and protective dark haired; dark eyed Takashi Morinozuka also known as Mori sempai and his cute but also deadly little blonde loli cousin Mitsukuni Haninozuka also known as or Honey sempai.<p>

These guys drove Haruhi crazy but she had to admit it was a lot of fun being in a host club with them.

'It's just a shame that they have to follow me everywhere' Haruhi thought; they were almost everywhere she went; the mall they're there; on her summer vacation job; they're there; her house; they're there.

As she took down her notes the twins beside her weren't really paying attention; Hikaru looked like he was about to fall asleep on her right while Kaoru on her left had already done so; she was the only one who could tell the difference between the two twins and that caused them to have an increasing affection towards her even if she didn't know it.

Haruhi listened intently to the lesson until the bell rang; she would be heading home early today since the host club had decided to take a day off so she had time to relax; clean the house; study...and of course get ready for a visit from an old friend who she was really looking forward to seeing.

"Hey Haruhi" Hikaru called

'And happy times over' she thought

"Yes what is it Hikaru?" she asked patiently

"Come over to us today" he suggested

"Yeah it's not like there's anything better to do" Kaoru agreed

Haruhi shook her head "Sorry guys but I've got to get home today" she said; Haruhi was very excited to get home and why?

Because last week she had gotten a letter from one of her old childhood friends that moved away and she was coming over to her today for some news that she promised would have Haruhi over the roof. She was very excited and couldn't wait to see her after all it has been more than five years.

'I wonder how she is' Haruhi smiled slightly and it didn't go unnoticed by the two twins

"Alright well if that's the case why don't we just come to your place Haruhi?" the two asked together

Haruhi froze and shook her head; there was no way she was allowing them to find out about her friend. That would not go well for either of them.

"Aw; why not Haruhi?" they asked

"Because I'm busy today" she said truthfully; just not going into the details about her personal business

"Please Haruhi" they begged

She shook her head "Forget it" she said looking around the class room everyone was already halfway out of the door; the girls in their yellow dresses and boys with their white shirts; black pants and purple blazers which was what she was wearing as well not that she cared.

"Anyway I've got to get going" Haruhi said standing up

"Please Haruhi" they said again as she walked to the door and started making her way out of the school

"Hey come on; come on; please; please; please; please" they continued

"No guys" Haruhi said once more "I told you I've got to get home"

"Please" they said again

"No; means no" she said again and this time she meant it

"Fine" they pouted

Haruhi sighed in content and continued her way out of school to her home

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><p>When Haruhi got home she came into an empty house or at least she thought it was empty; her dad was most likely still working of course leaving her to deal with the chores in the house but that was alright; she didn't really have a problem with that ever since her mom died she had been the one taking care of the chores.<p>

A little while after she finished cleaning up she decided that she would head out later on to the super market to go buy some things for dinner. She had to think about that as well as her homework which she planned on doing right now when there weren't any distractions; even if she tried to do it at school one of her friends might just show up and keep her from it.

A few minutes later she changed into her usual clothes; a brown shorts and t-shirt then she started on her essay for history class and then went to her maths homework which took a little longer since she had to make sure it was right but she got it done soon as well and even then barely any time had gone by for Haruhi and there was still nothing to do.

'I wonder if Maria's whole letter thing was a prank?' she thought as she sat down in the small living room just then she felt hands go over her eyes and someone speaking a very feminine voice

"Guess who?"

Haruhi smiled and turned around so fast she almost got whip lash; there was a girl about Haruhi's age now; she had shoulder length light brown hair; lighter than Haruhi's and sparkling blue eyes; she was the same height as Haruhi and had a similar figure both petite and cute.

This was Maria Sakagami; Haruhi's old childhood friend; she had moved away five years ago; she was adopted into a wealthy family that had been distant relatives of her and was forced to leave to attend a boarding school.

"So how have you been?" Maria asked Haruhi "You've gotten taller and your hairs so short you could look like a boy"

Haruhi laughed awkwardly "It's funny you should mention that actually there's something I really want to tell you"

"What is it?" Maria asked curiously

Haruhi explained what happened on her first day of high school; when she was looking for a place to study she bumped into the host club and into the expensive vase breaking it; she told her about the makeover they gave her and that she had decided to rather act as a boy and be a host to repay her debt to them instead of being an errand runner; she told Maria about each member of the group; their characteristics and how she could tell the Hitachiin brother's apart and her little cosplaying adventures as a boy and girl; about Kyoya-sempai and his black book and Mori-sempai and his cousin Honey-sempai who loved sweets and Tamaki-sempai who acted a lot like Haruhi's father.

After a full two hours of hearing about Haruhi's experiences Maria was beaming not only because of the adventures but because it sounded like a few of those friends of Haruhi's was in love with her best friend. Of course Haruhi appeared oblivious to that; she was really naive.

"So what about you?" asked Haruhi; Maria looked at her friend before giving a small smile

"What do you mean?"

"How have things been going with you? I also wanted to ask why you suddenly decided to come back when school's still in; that doesn't seem like the old smart Maria I know"

Maria looked at her "Haruhi; there's something you should know..."

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><p>"I think we should buy this" Maria suggested picking something off of the shelf<p>

"Are you sure it's expensive" Haruhi said

Maria rolled her eyes "I know that your price wise Haruhi but I did say that I would be buying everything if you would be cooking everything; that was the agreement"

Haruhi nodded pouting slightly; the two girls had come to an agreement; Maria offered to pay for everything if Haruhi cooked the meal which she reluctantly agreed to still not liking the idea of having her best friend pay for the groceries but the two girls were similar in a lot of ways once they made up their minds there was no changing them.

"Just think of this as part of my share" Maria told her as they looked around the supermarket

Haruhi shrugged "I suppose I could try..."

Maria looked back at her friend from the shopping cart "What are you still surprised by the news I told you?"

She nodded "Yeah I mean it's great but still it's still a shock for me; why would you decide to do that?"

Casting her eyes down with a light smile she looked at Haruhi "I have more news to share but I think it's better to explain the entire story to you when we get back."

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><p>"<em>Are you serious; you're coming to Ouran high?" Haruhi gasped standing up <em>

_Maria nodded "Surprised huh? I was going tell you in the letter but I figured it would be better to say it in person. Your dad however already knows about it and said that I could stay here until I find a place of my own" _

_Haruhi gave her a confused look "Not that I mind you staying here but I wanted to know why on earth your adoptive parents wouldn't find you a place themselves" _

_She rolled her eyes thinking about her 'parents' "Because they would find me some big expensive place to live in where they can keep tabs on me and I don't think I could handle that; I would much rather be on my own so I told them I already found a place though that part was a lie and I'm going to be attending Ouran high school because they said that they would only send me back here if I agreed to attend it so here I am" _

_Haruhi smiled lightly; the two girls have been best friend's since kinder garden and their parents were very close friend as well but then when Maria moved away to America they had kept in touch for three years and then for the remaining they suddenly lost touch and Haruhi was almost convinced that Maria had forgotten about her but she was wrong; something that rarely happened. _

"_So you're coming to my school" _

_Maria nodded "I'm really excited; tomorrows my first day; I can't wait" _

"_I'm sure you'll like it but you have to promise not to tell anyone at school that I'm a girl; it's not that I mind but the guys tend to get carried away if someone where to find out about my secret" _

_She nodded in understanding "Of course; I would do anything for you" _

_She smiled at her friend taking her hand in hers "And I would do the same for you" _

_Mari smiled brightly at her and hugged Haruhi "I've really missed you" _

_Haruhi smiled back "I missed you too" this was the first time she had felt tears sting her eyes that were of joy._

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><p>"So your guardians are really alright with this whole arrangement? Considering how quick they were to get you out of the country I'm surprised to be honest"<p>

She shrugged "Yeah; shipping me off to a boarding school in America was a surprised for me as well and believe me when I said I put up a fight but I couldn't stop however there is another reason I'm here" she looked grim for a moment and Haruhi felt her tense and instantly she knew that there was something troubling her friend and it was bad because for as long as she had known Maria almost nothing got to this girl; that was something the two of them had in common; they were both not easily fazed.

There was no doubt that this was something that wouldn't be good but if her friend was in trouble Haruhi would do anything to help her friend and she wasn't exaggerating when she said that.

Before she had heard from Maria herself that her parents were murdered when she was a little girl and no one found out who had done it.

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><p>When they got back to Haruhi's home Maria had gone into Haruhi's room to set down the spare futon while Haruhi started making dinner; they had bough quite a bit for tonight even though it would just be the two of them as her dad was still working late tonight and they had school the next day so that didn't leave much time for celebration for the two friends.<p>

After Haruhi cooked their meals; they ate in peace talking about random things telling each other about their experiences so far in high school and during that time Maria turned serious.

"Haruhi; I have a reason for coming back here but I'm not sure how you're going to take it"

"What is it?"Haruhi asked taking her friend full attention

Maria averted her eyes looking like she wanted to think of what words to say to her "There's something I want to tell you and it's not going to be good"

Haruhi swallowed her food looking at Maria not really bothered but still slightly worried "What is it?"

Taking a breath Maria started talking "I can't tell you everything right now because even I don't know all of the details but the reason I came back here is because I'm searching for someone"

"Who is it?"

Maria closed her eyes and clenched her tiny fists "I came back to Japan because I'll be searching for my parent's murderer"

Haruhi gasped dropping her fork; her mouth slightly gaping at Maria "What?" she hoped she heard wrong "You want to go searching for someone who murdered your parents? That's impossible no scratch that Maria that is a very bad idea; it's dangerous-

"I know that" Maria said "But I have to do it; I have to know who did it; I have to put them away and it's not about revenge if that's what you're thinking"

Haruhi shook her head "It's not that it's just that this happened years ago Maria; you've never even seen who did it to them and another thing is how could it be possible you know who did this to them?"

She looked up at her friend with a scowl; reaching into her pocket she pulled out her phone and scrolled down to her text messages "Because the person who killed my parents is after me to and not just me"

Haruhi's eyes widened as she read through the messages in shock these were all blocked messages taht couldn't be traced but she didn't like the looks of them she started at the first message; these had started no more than two years ago.

**Hello Maria long time no kill-Phantom**

**It seems you'll put up a better fight than your parents-Phantom **

**What happens in Japan; transfers to America. I wouldn't think I'm out of the woods just yet-Phantom**

**Don't you wish that mommy and daddy were here to take you back; you'll be joining them sooner than you think-Phantom **

**Happy birthday Maria kisses and throttles- Phantom **

**You're new beginning is going to be your end-Phantom **

**Phantom takes a vacation; you should to why not go visit your old friend Haruhi? **

**Let's play hide and go seek; hider hides and seeker kills?-Phantom **

**You can't run but you can scream-Phantom**

**I spy a liar-Phantom**

"Ok this guy is out of his mind" Haruhi said a little startled that she was mentioned in the messages as well "You should've told the police"

"Don't you think I've already considered that Haruhi?" Maria said clenching her fists tighter "I've tried that but Phantom is always one step ahead of me; he made me do all of these things and play these stupid games and if I tell the police about this he threatens to kill anyone that get's close to me"

Haruhi gasped "Maria..."

She shook her head "I've tried so many times and nearly lost all of them Haruhi and I didn't want to tell you about this but I didn't have a choice now"

"Why?" Haruhi asked

"Just read the rest of the messages"

Haruhi stopped and started to scroll down to the last few messages that Maria had gotten from this crazy psycho path. She looked at the demands from Phantom to return to Japan she continued reading the messages.

**If you're tired of playing alone let's make it more fun how about Haruhi remember her? I think that the queen needs its knight.-Phantom **

Haruhi stopped in shock "This person is after me now as well?"

Maria nodded clenching her eyes shut "I don't know how...I tried for over two years to keep you out of this that's why I stopped replying to your letters to protect you but Phantom wouldn't have it and threatened to hurt you if I tried to keep you out of it. He wanted me to return to Japan and I think that this has something to do with my parents"

"And what would that be?" Haruhi asked

Maria paused "Haruhi; if I knew that I wouldn't be here right now but there's something that they must've been hiding because a few months ago" she took her phone from Haruhi and went into another inbox and opened a few messages for her to read.

"Apparently whoever this Phantom person is it's not the first time he's struck"

**If you want the Phantom game to end return to Japan and find your friend Haruhi Fujioka and answer this question together the moment everything is explained to her. **

**State Yes or No if you wish to join us in our fight against the Phantom **

"Who sent this?" Haruhi asked

Maria shrugged "Someone that's calling them the Phantom Titans; a little cliché if you ask me"

Haruhi frowned "Maria; this is no time to be joking around this is serious; this could be very dangerous"

Maria started laughing but there was no humour behind it "Oh you have no idea; for the last five years of my life I've been running around playing this sick twisted game of who ever this is. I nearly got killed on several occasions or even arrested Haruhi; this is serious believe me I know more than anyone anytime I tried to go against the game someone I care about would get hurt badly; my adoptive sister Susan; I told her about the messages and even though she wanted to help me the next day she ended up in the hospital with amnesia. This isn't something that I enjoy; I've had to go to all these scary places obeying Phantom's orders. I wasn't safe anywhere not even here; I didn't want to come but they threatened me again. Phantom said that if I even considered doing something like run away from all of this he would come after you and you would be forced to deal with this game alone."

Haruhi stared at her friend in shock; this defiantly wasn't the kind of reunion she was expecting after all this time.

"Haruhi" Maria whispered "I know that this isn't something you wanted to hear but please even if you may hate me for this I need you to listen to me; this isn't something you can run off no matter how hard you try; Phantom's everywhere. You can't go to the police or something's going to happen to the people you care about believe me"

"I do" Haruhi whispered "I-I'm just trying to process this"

Maria nodded "I understand believe me"

Haruhi ran a hand through her short hair and sighed "So there's no way to get out of this?"

Maria shook her head "This all a game to Phantom and we're the game pieces; I want to stop him and the only way to do that is to catch him"

"What could he possibly hope to gain by doing things like this?" Haruhi asks "It doesn't make any sense; I wish I could tell one of the guys"

"No; you can't do that; you don't know what might happen to them ok. You have to promise you won't tell anyone; I'm serious if anyone finds out about this then it won't be good for them if Phantom makes that discovery"

There was silence again; Haruhi thought back to when the two girls were only six years old

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><p>"<em>Hey Haruhi; do you want to play on the swings?" a tiny Maria asked looking at a four year old Haruhi<em>

_Haruhi shook her head "No; I can't" _

"_Huh; why not?" she asked _

_Haruhi looked down "Those boys...they won't let me" _

_Maria frowned "That's not very nice; did they do anything?" _

_Haruhi narrowed her cute eyes "They said that it's only for boys" _

_The smaller girl turned her head to the four boys on the swings laughing; they were about a year older than the two girls. She frowned deeply at them; their parents were a little further away so they couldn't see anything. _

_Maria smirked suddenly; It was something Haruhi was used to seeing on her friends face when she was about to do something most of the time Haruhi had to stop her before she hurt herself. _

"_W-What are you going to do?" Haruhi asked frightened now for her friends sake; she swore Maria wasn't scared of anything. _

"_Haruhi come with me" she said taking Haruhi's wrist and dragging her to the swings where the four boys were on _

"_Hey pals why don't you give someone else a turn?" Maria asked _

_The one boy laughed "Oh girly why don't you make us" _

_This one was the biggest and there was no doubt he was the leader; he stood in front of the two girls "Why don't you brush your teeth once in a while?" Maria sneered _

_The boy frowned and went to reach out for her when she grabbed his arm and flipped him over on his back hard. He groaned in pain but when he tried to get up she pressed her foot down on his chest and turned to his three friends that were looking pretty frightened _

"_Who's next?" Maria asked _

_The three looked amongst each other and the other one stepped forward Maria moved her foot and went towards the second boy she kicked him under his feet making him land on the ground hard. _

_The other two started to freak "Now say you're sorry for picking on Haruhi" _

"_We're sorry" they said together _

"_Now get out of here" Maria ordered stomping her foot on the ground; the four boys picked themselves up and ran for their lives; Maria started giggling until she turned back to Haruhi. _

"_They didn't hurt you right?" _

_Haruhi shook her head "That was amazing but..."_

"_It was nothing; my parents send me to classes to fight since I'm so small" Maria said blushing slightly; she pulled on Haruhi's hand and sat her down on the swing before standing up on it behind her and started moving her body back to forth. _

"_I'm sorry I couldn't help" Haruhi said as she swung back and forth _

_Maria smiled at her friend "You're my best friend; my only friend of course I would do this for you; I would take on a hundred bullies and let them beat me up before they ever hurt you" _

_Haruhi stared at her in shock her cheeks slightly flushed at listening to her friend sweet promise to protect her _

"_I swear to always take care of you if you promise to always be my friend" _

_Haruhi smiled and held out her little finger "Pinkie swear" _

"_Pinkie swears" Maria responded _

'_No matter what; I'll always protect you'_

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><p>Haruhi looked up at Maria with a determined look in her eyes "I will do it"<p>

Maria looked at Haruhi shocked; she wasn't expecting her friend to be so quick to respond to this. She should know that it would be dangerous even if she didn't know all of the details about what she was getting herself into and neither did Maria however Maria had experience with Phantom.

"Haruhi are you sure you want me to say we'll team up with these people?" Maria asked

She nodded "Yeah; but just to be sure we'll think it over tonight"

Maria nodded "Ok"

There was silence again as the girls sent the message yes to them

"Let's get ready for bed" Haruhi said

"Yeah; big day tomorrow"

In truth they just wanted to get lost in a peaceful sleep even though they knew it was actually going to be a bit uneasy.

**Ok; hope you enjoyed that chapter please don't forget to review**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright wonderful readers another day another chapter, I hope you enjoy this.**

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><p>The next morning at Ouran high school Haruhi and Maria had arrived a bit early; Maria was in the standard girl's uniform and Haruhi in the boy's uniform. They walked towards the entrance of the high school. Maria was looking around; this school was really large but that's something her boarding school and this school had in common except Maria actually wanted to be here.<p>

Haruhi smiled at her friend's expression; as they walked through the corridors to go get her class schedule the two friends were ignoring the stares they were getting from some of the students.

"Wow who's the cute girl?"

"Is that Fujioka girlfriend?"

"Do you think she's available?"

"What's Haruhi-kun doing with a girl?"

"I've never seen him with a girl before"

"She must be new here"

"Yeah I've never seen her before"

Looking over the schedule it turned out that they were in the same class together. Haruhi took her to the class room and Maria was placed in front of Haruhi.

"Hikaru and Kaoru sit beside me" Haruhi told her

Maria nodded turning around to face her friend "So you seem really popular with the ladies and the guys?"

Haruhi looked at her confused "Not really; the girls come to the host club so they know me from there and as for the guys well it's only the host club that know about me being a girl""

Maria smiled at her friend who gave her another one of her curious looks "What is it?"

"It's nothing" she said shaking her head "I'm just glad I'm in the same class with you"

Haruhi smiled back at her "So am I" they continued smiling until they heard the bell go after a few seconds and everyone started taking their seats. Haruhi and Maria had their books out already along with the students then two Hitachiin twins came in.

"Good morning Haruhi" they said together

"Morning" Haruhi responded

"Why are you always here so early?" Hikaru asked

"It seems like a waste of time" Kaoru added

"That's not true" Haruhi said "I was helping out with something so I came a bit earlier"

The two twins looked at each and then back to Haruhi

The teacher came in and cleared his throat "Now class before we begin I would like to welcome a new student Maria Sakagami; please stand"

Maria stood up looking around the class "Please tell us something about yourself"

Clearing her throat Maria spoke up in a calm tone "Hello; it's a pleasure to meet everyone; I'm Maria and I transferred from America due to circumstances and I look forward to attending Ouran high school."

A male student raised his hand and spoke up "Um what's your relationship with Fujioka?"

"Come again?" Kaoru and Hikaru asked in surprise

"Oh yeah I saw them walking together this morning"

"Yeah so did I" another student said

"I can clarify that" Maria said smiling "Haruhi Fujioka is my old childhood friend"

When the class finally calmed down lessons were able to continue as per normal well as normal as it could be when the two twins wanted answers from Haruhi while Haruhi was writing a note to Maria. She tapped her on her back and passed it on to her. Maria read the note.

'Please explain later why you decided to blurt that out?' Haruhi told her; Maria turned around and nodded writing on the note and handing it back to Haruhi with a reply

'Let's go to the gardens and we can talk'

Haruhi responded 'Alright but we have to be quick because Hikaru and Kaoru are going to want answers'

When Maria read the note she responded 'We'll rush out'

The twins looked between them still in shock and wondering the same thing

'What the heck is going on?'

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><p>After class the students walked out; Haruhi got out her boxed lunch and so did Maria; Haruhi had made it for the two of them; they left the class room before the twins could get a hold of Haruhi. She was already out of the class room with Maria and they were running through the hall ways making their way outside to the gardens.<p>

They heard the twins call after Haruhi however they managed to get away from them on the last corner.

Haruhi and Maria went to the fountain area "I don't think they're following us anymore" Haruhi said

Maria nodded in agreement "But I'm not going to be able to avoid them forever" Haruhi stated "And if they can help it neither will you"

"I understand that; I figured it would be better than to have rumours spreading around when you're like this" Maria said gesturing to Haruhi's clothes

"I guess that makes sense but I'm still going to have to deal with those guys this afternoon" Haruhi told her

"I'm going to join gymnastics here today so after the meeting this afternoon I'll swing by this host club of yours and maybe clear up any misunderstandings if there are any. I already feel bad for having to get you involved with my other problems I don't want to cause you anymore"

Haruhi nodded "Alright; it's in the old music room"

There was silence for a while between the two girls until Haruhi decided to break it

"You know Maria it's my choice to get involved with this; you don't have to feel guilty about it"

Maria chuckled "How could you tell?"

Haruhi shrugged "I guess I've gotten use to reading people but just remember that none of this is your fault understand?"

"Haruhi; I don't know that' Maria said "I don't get why my parents killer is torturing me like this or why you're involved with this as well but I promise I'm going to protect you"

"You don't have to worry" Haruhi promised "I'll always have your back"

Maria held out her pinkie "Promise?"

"Of course" Haruhi said smiling at her

"Huh; you really do look cute as a boy"

"Hey..."

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><p>"WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU MEAN HARUHI HAS A GIRLFREIND?" shouted Tamaki glaring at Hikaru and Kaoru, he hoped that this was some sort of joke from the two devils and not true.<p>

"It's true boss" Kaoru said

"The new transfer student said she was one of Haruhi's old friends"

Haruhi stared at them in disdain 'Oh boy...'

"She's not my girlfriend" Haruhi said and she literally just saw Tamaki beam at that sentence "Well she is but not in the sense that you might be thinking!"

"I believe that the new transfer students name is Maria Sakagami; the adoptive daughter of the founders of Sakagami industry correct?" Kyoya said typing on his laptop

Haruhi nodded "Yeah but how did you know that Kyoya sempai?"

"Their family happens to be close business partners with my own and knowing my father he would want to that close business bond to remain even after Maria takes over the company" Kyoya stated

'Somehow I don't like where that's going' Haruhi thought as she narrowed her eyes

"But she was in America; why come here?" Hikaru asked

"She didn't say" Haruhi lied

Tamaki ran up to Haruhi and started squeezing the life out of here "Oh my dear sweet Haruhi please don't leave us for a new-

"She's not a new friend Tamaki-sempai she's my childhood friend, I've known her since kinder garden" Haruhi states crossing her arms over her chest

"Oh really?" the twins asked

"Yes" Haruhi said

Honey smiled "I think it's cute that Haru chan has a friend"

"Thanks Honey sempai" Haruhi smiled at him

"Let's leave this matter to rest rather" Kyoya suggested

"Oh come on; we want to know more about Haruhi's secret friend" Hikaru said

"She's not a secret" Haruhi pointed out

"As amusing as this little conversation may be, we're about to open" Kyoya stated

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><p>Later on after the host club was nearly finished for the day with their last few customers there was a knock at the door and none other than Maria entered.<p>

"Well it appears we have a new guest" Kyoya said smiling "Welcome"

Maria bowed her head slightly "Thank you. I would like to request Fujioka"

Haruhi stood up from her seat and walked over to Maria "How was practice?"

"It was fun; the gym is really big" she said smiling looking around the room "So this is the host club huh?"

Haruhi nodded "Yeah what do you think?"

She shrugged reading Haruhi's face and walking to one of the tables with her in a secluded section so that the host club members didn't get too curious but they had their own customers to deal with right now.

When the two girls were sure no one would hear them Maria took out her phone.

"Did you get a message?" she asked

Haruhi shrugged and took out her phone "Oh yeah; but I keep it on silent" she opened the message box and read it.

**Go to the library after school and check out the reserved book Dark bloom **

**Phantom Titans **

"So we have to head out after this session?" Haruhi asked

"I can go alone to the library to get whatever it is that we need" Maria said

"I wanted to ask; did you get any messages from Phantom himself yet?"

She shook her head "No; I haven't but we can't wait for him to strike; Haruhi this person has been tormenting me for two years and now he wants to do the same to you. We can't wait around to see what will happen"

She nodded "I understand but if that's the case you're not going alone; this place has more than one library obviously you're going to need a bit of help"

Maria sighed knowing that when Haruhi made up her mind it was nearly impossible to change it "Fine then; we'll go together"

Maria nodded

"Oh I also wanted to introduce you to the rest of the host club officially"

"How come?" asked Maria

"Because I can promise they're not going to stop until I do" she stated

"Oh, ok then"

Haruhi smiled "Now my lady would you like some tea?"

Maria giggled "Why thank you"

* * *

><p>While Haruhi and Maria were chatting together the other hosts were watching them.<p>

"There's something about those two that I just can't place" Hikaru said "And what did you mean by adopted?"

Kyoya pushed up his glasses "Well you see Maria was originally the daughter of a doctor and scientist; both of them died when she was still very young but she had ties to Haruhi's family and the two of them grew up together like sisters. Maria is distantly related with the Sakagami family and they adopted her as their daughter; they took her out of the country in hopes to let her start fresh"

"You know it's scary that you know so much about this" Kaoru said

"I wonder what they're talking about?" asked Mitsukuni; looking at them cutely "Haru-chan seems really happy"

Tamaki shook his head "I suppose it is good she has a friend in class now it's better than those shady twins"

"Like you have room to talk" they said together

"I wonder why they decided to take that secluded section there though" Kyoya said observing all of the empty tables around

* * *

><p>"So Haruhi is finally introducing us to her famous childhood friend here?" Tamaki said charmingly; he gently picked up Maria's hand "Nice to meet you miss please tell me have you and Haruhi been friend long?"<p>

Maria nodded "Yeah; we've been friends since we were little kids" she turned to Haruhi "You know I actually have some old photo albums of ours when we were kids at home all the way till we were ten"

Haruhi blushed and shook her head "N-No, d-don't show them that no matter what"

Maria gave her a strange look before turning to the twins

"Hello Maria; we're Kaoru and Hikaru"

She looked at them and narrowed her eyes slightly "Oh the devil twins Haruhi told me about"

The twins smirked as they wrapped their arms around one another's shoulders "Oh; so Haruhi told you about us?"

"Only that you're both mischievous; smart mouthed twins that tend to take pranks too far and piss her off from time to time" she replied bluntly making their sweat drop

'Though it's amazing how she can tell the difference but that's Haruhi for you' Maria thought looking at the two twins, she couldn't tell the difference

"Hey can you tell which one is Hikaru and which one's Kaoru?" they asked mischievously

Maria looked for a few moments before pointing "This one's Hikaru and this one's Kaoru; right Haruhi?"

Haruhi smiled and nodded although she knew that Maria had taken a gamble on that one

"That's impressive" Kyoya said "I thought only Haruhi could tell the difference"

"Actually I just guessed" Shrugging Maria looked at Kyoya "You're Kyoya sempai if I remember correctly...nice to meet you"

'Did she just pause in that sentence?' he thought starring at her calmly

Mitsukuni walked up to Maria and held out a piece of cake for her "Do you want to share some cake with me?"

"Of course Honey-sempai" Maria said smiling 'Haruhi was right, he is cute'

"Nice to meet you" Mori said coming up behind Mitsukuni

"Nice to meet you to Mori-sempai" Maria smiled "Haruhi told me a lot about all of you"

"Oh did she?" Kyoya asked with a smile

"So are you going to be tagging around Haruhi a lot?" Hikaru asked

Maria shrugged "I suppose so"

"Then you're welcome at the club any time" Tamaki said with a charming smile

"Huh; Haruhi maybe you were wrong about him being over dramatic"

Haruhi shook her head "No trust me I was right the first time"

"Say what?"

Haruhi looked around ignoring Tamaki and noticed that there weren't any more guests and this would be the perfect time to high tail it to the library "We're closing up now right so Maria and I are going to go home is that ok?"

"I suppose" Kyoya said

"Hey wait a minute home?" the twins asked

"Yeah; Maria's staying with me"

"You're living together?" Tamaki asked gaping pointing at them; Maria held onto Haruhi's arm and smiled

"Yup; we're roommates"

"What!?" shouted Tamaki and the twins

Haruhi gave them a confused look "I was kinda mad when I found out Haruhi was working off her debt and I would pay it off for her haven't it been the fact I know Haruhi enough to understand she wouldn't allow me to do that so let's try and get along because like it or not I'm going to be around Haruhi for a while"

They all stared at her in shock 'It looks like she's marked her territory' they thought

* * *

><p>Haruhi and Maria walked through the empty library; there was no one around other than the librarian since it was nearly five in the afternoon. They searched the last two libraries as instructed and were looking for the book Dark bloom though they didn't find a book with that name which meant it could only be in the third or fourth library; the librarian had directed them right to the back of the library and that was really far like literally at the end of the huge place.<p>

"We need to hurry" Haruhi said "The schools only going to be only for another thirty minutes so we have to finish off here"

"That gives us enough time Haruhi" Maria said looking around "The librarian said it was in row...oh crap"

"What is it?" Haruhi asked taking the piece of paper out of her friend's hands she read it "This says it's on the very top shelf"

They looked up and saw a purple covered book with the name Dark bloom in gold "There it is"

"Y-Yeah; H-Haruhi y-you know that m-me and heights...

Haruhi smiled "I'll get it" she started climbing up the ladder

"Be careful" Maria warned; while Haruhi had her fear of thunder and lightning; Maria had her own fear of heights; even walking up a flight of stairs freaked her out but she had gotten use to it.

It was just when she looked down that she would faint.

"I got it" Haruhi said smiling; she was about to step down but the ladder's step suddenly snapped and Haruhi nearly fell.

"Haruhi!" exclaimed Maria in panic; she grabbed hold of the ladder to keep it steady; Haruhi got her footing again on the other step and came down as fast as she could.

"That was close" Haruhi said panting slightly "They really should check these things"

There was a beeping noise from Haruhi's phone and she looked to see who the message was from guessing it was one of the members but she was surprised to find other wise.

"Maria" Haruhi called turning to her friend who had picked up the book Haruhi had gotten

**Better keep it down the libraries supposed to be filled with silence not screams**

**Phantom **

Maria frowned deeply "It's starting; I knew it. Haruhi are you alright?"

She nodded putting her phone back in her blazer "I'm fine just a little shaken"

"Phantoms always been doing this kind of thing to me all the time knowing him this is just the beginning"

Haruhi frowned "Then we have to find a way to end this; let's take a look"

They heard footsteps coming towards them and they froze in fear as it got closer to them

"What are you girls doing back here?" they sighed in relief when they saw the elderly librarian looking at them

"Um...the ladder; one of the steps are broken" Haruhi explained

"Oh; I'm so sorry girls. I'll inform a staff member" she said smiling

The girls nodded and walked out with the book in their arms so that the Librarian didn't see it.

"Let's open the book and see what's in here" Haruhi suggested but Maria shook her head

"No, I think we should go home first. I don't feel comfortable out in the open like this"

"Alright"

As the two girls left the library they failed to notice someone watching them walking away from the library

* * *

><p>"Let's take a look now" Haruhi said; sitting on her futon with Maria beside her; they opened the book on the first few pages and there wasn't anything there; then they turned it around and found a white envelope stuck to the back.<p>

Glancing at one another, they opened the envelope and found a letter inside and started reading

**Thank you for your answer **

**We're sure you wouldn't want to be left in the dark even if it's safer about the Phantom Titans. **

**Go to the Dancing Blossoms night club Friday night and be there by 11:45 pm if you want an answer to your Phantom crisis. **

"The Dancing Blossoms, are you kidding me?" Haruhi asked as she ran a hand through her head "That's all the way across town and the place only opens at 11 pm and just to top it we can't get in because we're underage"

Maria looked inside the envelope and pulled out something "I don't think that's going to be a problem; look" she gave Haruhi a card "They had it figured out"

Haruhi gaped as she started at the fake ID of her saying that she was eighteen

"Hell" she muttered; they had taken a picture she had used for high school but had altered it making her look like she was in casual clothes.

Maria looked at her picture and scowled "This looks like a mug shot"

"Really?" asked Haruhi turning to her friend, that wasn't the point of this right now

"Don't you making fake ID's for us is taking it too far?" Haruhi asked "Can we even trust these people? What if they're on Phantoms side?"

Maria paused; thinking about what Haruhi said "It's not like we have any other way. We go to the police give them the texts; everything Phantom had made me do by far will come back to bite me in the ass"

Haruhi sighed; she just wished that there was another way to do this aside from acting like they were in some kind of teen crime movie.

"Well we have today and tomorrow to figure out what we're going to wear because I have absolutely nothing" Haruhi stated trying to lighten the mood but they were both still tense

They stopped when they heard the front door open and Haruhi's dad call "Haruhi; Maria I'm home"

Glancing towards each other the girls hid the items in the book and left it on Haruhi's night stand before coming into the living room where Haruhi's dad was waiting and dressed as a red headed woman of course.

'Mr Fujioka really hadn't changed all that much' Maria thought smiling humorously

"So how are you girls?"

"We're fine" they replied together looking at one another from time to time

"So how was the first day of school Maria?" Ryouji asked

"It was great Mr Fujioka; Haruhi showed me around but we didn't get to cover the entire grounds" Maria said putting on a smile

Haruhi wondered how she could smile like that after taht letter they had just received.

"I wanted to thank you again for allowing me to stay here"

Ryouji shook his head "Oh nonsense of course you're welcome here Maria. You're like a daughter to me as well as Haruhi's sister. Speaking of family how have yours been doing back in America?"

Maria shrugged "I don't know, I haven't been in touch with them since I arrived yesterday"

"I see. I wanted to ask Maria, could you please help Haruhi get in touch with her feminine side. I've been trying so hard but heavens she just doesn't want to-

Haruhi coughed to interrupt him "Dad..."

"Oh; alright" he said waving his hand dismissively "I'm going to the kitchen to go make some lunch"

Haruhi stood up fast "Don't worry dad; Maria and I will take care of it"

Before Maria could say anything Haruhi grabbed her friends arm and took her to the kitchen "What was that?"

"You want him to cook?" Haruhi asked placing a hand on her hip

Maria shook her head "No way; I remember last time that happened. Ugh thinking about it the taste comes back along with the puke"

"Exactly"

They stopped and laughed before going to get out the food for lunch "Let's just make rice balls" Maria suggested

"I thought you couldn't cook to save your life?" Haruhi asked

"And yet you brought me into the kitchen" pointed out Maria gesturing to the room they were in

"Well I didn't want to leave you along with my dad" she said in a whisper "The two of you might make some kind of plot to 'doll' me up or something"

Maria giggled "I know better than to try something like that head on with you; I'd wait until you were unconscious or something"

Haruhi glared at her "Really?"

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to" Maria said putting water into the pot "I've taken cooking classes at boarding school; part of the curriculum or as my parents put it. Lessons that I may never need in the future but should have to be a proper young lady; if that's the case you're more of a lady than me"

Haruhi smiled "And yet you're the one in the white summer dress and I'm the one wearing the T-shirt and boy shorts"

"Hey; you're the one who taught me it's not what's on the outside that counts"

"Did you listen to everything I told you as a kid?" Haruhi asked as she took out the plates

Maria nodded "Your voice is a little hard to forget; it haunts me at night"

Haruhi smacked Maria's arm lightly "Very funny; now go make sure that the rice doesn't boil over or becomes hard as stone like the last time"

"It's not like you broke a tooth from eating my rice balls"

"I wouldn't be too sure about that"

Maria rolled her eyes but had a big smile on her face "You know; I'm glad"

"Huh?" Haruhi stopped chopping up the vegetables and looked at Maria

"Never mind" she suddenly smiled wider "Hey guess who learned to make Ootori?"

"Huh!"

"I knew it; give you fancy tuna and you light up like a Christmas tree" she laughed

**Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review **


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